posted Sep 21, 2011 9:55 AM by Bill Brown
Well, after a devastating run at the QCM, I was looking forward to something more memorable. Luckily, the TBM was it. Knowing I was only going to run a half marathon helped. Also, knowing it was in Costa Rica so it would be a "vacation run" helped. After the QCM, we were so busy getting ready for the trip and I was so disinterested in running, that I did not run at all between the QCM and the TBM. It worked out fantastic. Fantastic trip to Guanacaste (from San Jose, CR) and the whole weekend went super excellent. The race itself started at 5AM (to beat the heat) and as it turned out, only the last 1/2 hr or so of the run was really hot. There were about 2,500 people running in all the events, which consisted of 5k, 10k, half, 30k, and full marathon. Unfortunately, there were Kenyans there, and they cleaned up. There were 3 Kenyans in the race, and a Kenyan won the full, half, and 30k events. The weather was expectedly hot. About 23c and 85% humidity at race time. I was hoping this would be a decent run, and knew there was no way I was going to get a PB this time. So I just ran it and tried not to force myself too much. It went pretty good. I kept to my own pace, but still was passing people from the start, to near the end of the race. I finished the race strong and was happy with my effort. I probably could have taken off another 5 minutes had I really pushed myself - but I decided not to and am glad I ran it that way, since it made the rest of the day that much better. My final time was 1:57:14, which was 284th overall, (out of about 900 in the half) and 7th out of 24 in my age group. For a vacation run in the heat, I was happy with the results.  The run was organized very well. It started right on time and the
water/gaterade stations were every 2k and there was alot of excitement
during the race. Lots of people on the side of the road cheering
everyone as they ran by. The scenery was fantastic and there was
little elevation change. The race was on the roads (which they closed
at 4AM) and so was asphalt all the way. The medal is probably the
nicest one I've gotten so far - colorful, big, descriptive, etc.
If there was a negative it would be that the strictness of the race dissipated after a while. By the end of the half marathon, runners who had finished and their friends and family, were walking and standing in the middle of the road, while other runners were trying to finish. Anyone who finished after about the 2 hr half marathon mark, had to dodge and weave through people and cars the last KM or so. This was another reason I was glad to have done the half. Although we saw people running the full as we were on our way out of town (those people would have finished in the 5 or 5 1/2 hr mark) - by that time the roads were open so they were having to deal with the traffic - lots of traffic on a small highway with no shoulders. In my view, the last half of the race for the full marathoners was probably dangerous becuase of the traffic, if not because of the heat. In any event, although my race times seem to be consistently slow, the enjoyment I got out of this race definitely brought me out of my depressive state after the QCM. Next up is a 10k in the middle of San Jose - International 10k Costa Rica - Sunday 25 Sept. I'm going to give that one all I have, since it's only 10k, and see if I can finish in around 45 or 50 minutes. |
posted Sep 12, 2011 9:22 AM by Bill Brown
Let's just forget that one even happened...
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:44 AM by Bill Brown
We are here on the eve of the QCM 2011, an event itself worth blogging about - many changes this year. However I will save that blogging for after the race.
In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the new site and the new format. There may be some bugs with missing or bad links on photos, but please bear with me as I iron out the last few pieces of the blog site move. I moved from a WordPress blog to a Google site, if anyone is interested in knowing that.
Lots to blog about in the next few weeks - but one thing at a time.
QCM 2011 is tomorrow. Time to head out for a final 5k warmup.
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:43 AM by Bill Brown
What a race! Sinister 7 is one of those epic trail races that
just begs you to do it. If you are unfamiliar with the Sinister 7,
check out the web site: http://www.sinister7.com/ In short, it is
summarized thusly:
Total Distance: 148km
Stages: 7 stages ranging from 12km to 35km
Elev. Change: Gain: 5,250m / Loss: 5,250m
Duration: 27 hours to complete the entire course
Now you may be thinking that 148 km is probably too far for most
people. This year, only 13 women and 24 men finished the whole distance
solo. Which is why most of us join a team.
I got an invite to join a team only a few weeks before the event. I
jumped at the chance right away, and am really glad I did. The team I
was on was team #108, “2 hot girls and their muses”. I was tagged as
muse #3, since I was to run leg 3 of the race. Everyone on the team was
really super nice and we were all just out to have fun, and finish. All
fun – no stress except what you put on yourself.
 John, Andrew, Tracy, Jake, Kevin, Kim, Bill. We all ran as decent as expected and Andrew crossed the finish line
for us at about 02:39, giving us a total time of about 19:39:30, which
was good enough for 71st place in the team category.
Many people compare this race to the Death Race in Grand Cache.
Although there are similarities (super long ultra race in mountainous
terrain) there are also really a lot of difference as well. Not only on
the ground, but especially on the organization of the race itself.
While the DR is showing signs of organization “glitches”, this Sinister 7
race had absolutely nothing to complain about – lots of food, great
volunteers, great course markings, super transition areas, and anything
else that you can think of that makes it a good race – was there.
 Bill at leg 3 finish On a personal level, I found this race very tough – even though I
only ran one leg of 35 km, it was enough for me. Although I would one
day love to run something like this solo, it is definitely not in the
cards for at least a few years – and even then in the condition that I
can learn a lot more about myself with respect to hydration and
nutrition beyond the 30 km point of a race. Perhaps one day, but it
will be later rather than sooner.
In summary, the whole weekend was absolutely fantastic. I saw
friends whom I had not seen in many months, and our team spirit and
general enjoyment of the race was not beaten by anyone. With the
exception of a few scrapes and bruises, and some apparently bad vanilla
gel that caused a stomach ache, it was a perfect weekend of running. I
hope that I will be able to have the chance to run this one again next
year.
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:43 AM by Bill Brown
It has been a very long time since I’ve updated this blog – so this post is just to ketchup on all my activities.
In a nutshell, great year. On a personal level, I seem to have
reached the point where I am not seeing big gains in results, so I
figure I am probably reaching a plateau which will now require me to
work much harder for lesser results. This may hinder a good training
plan, but that is yet to know for sure.
I’ve caught up on my Race History/Agenda page – and will make an
effort to at least keep that up to date. Otherwise, if I don’t blog
right after an event, it will probably not get blogged about, since it
is really only the enthusiasm of any event that pushes me to blog in the
first place.
The one other thing to note on a personal training level, is that I
believe I have done too much racing and not enough training during the
Spring of 2011. This is echoed by the lack of PBs in the races
themselves, and the fact that knee and calf muscles have been sore
lately, which is unusual. Therefore, my plan will be to not race
anything big until QCM 2011, with the possible exception of a 10k on
Aug. 28th.
Thanks for reading!
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:42 AM by Bill Brown
What could be better than celebrating Canada Day with a 10 km
run? Not much, if you ask the participants of the 9th annual Moose
Jawg, with proceeds going to their local hospital foundation.
 Moose jawg 2010
This one I ran last year and enjoyed it, so I thought I would run it
again. This year the weather was again super. Mostly sunny and
although a little warm, it was bearable. I like this course. It winds
through the trees and areas in Wakamaw Valley and uses both road and
some trails (well, gravel roads moreso than trails) and as a 10 km
event, it feels “busy”, but not over crowded. The water stations were
great, the fans were great, and there was even a band playing Celtic
music along the route. This event is always fun and friendly, which is
why I would like to do it again next year.
I decided to do this race just to see how my 10 km race time was coming
along. To my pleasant surprise, it is coming along nicely. Another
Personal Best. I managed to finish 5th in my age group, and 29th
overall, with a time of 0:45:39.
Moose Jawg 10k Age Group results
Moos Jawg 10k Overall results
The pancake breakfast was nice, and again I had a nice visit with friends which added to the enjoyment of the event.
Next up – Canadian Death Race – Leg 5, on July 31st, 2010
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:40 AM by Bill Brown
I’ve heard about the K-100 since last summer. People said great
things about it. So I wanted to participate. The K-100 is a 100 MILE
relay from Longview, Alberta (just south of Calgary) around (West) on
highway 40 [mostly] and then as #40 winds North, the race continues to
the Nakiska Ski hill, just north of Kananaskis Village. This is a 10
person relay event, and I was lucky and found a team which included a
few friends from Regina.
First off – the scenery. The Kananaskis area is absolutely
magnificent. I made me wish I had a high quality digital camera in
order to captures some of the fabulous views that I experienced. As it
was, all I had was my iPhone camera, so the picture quality is minimal.
You’ll just have to imagine the extra sharpness, colours, and fine
quality that are associated with a better picture.
 Animals on the highway  Woodpecker in Kananaskis VIllage  Lower Kananaskis Lake I have more images of the K-100 on my Facebook image album; click here.
The K-100 is run almost entirely on the highway. The only exceptions
are the last 2 legs of the race. And luckily, I got one of them. I
ran leg 9, which was 90% trail run. And it was as beautiful as everyone
said it was. That helped in doing well, since that was scenery that I
was not used to – and absorbing the fabulous streams, rivers, and
occasional elk just made my day. My leg of the race started on the
edge of the highway, but the trail run was mostly around the Kananaskis
village area, finishing at the Nakiska ski hill. If you’re wondering
how my leg of the race, and the 10th leg of the race can finish at the
same place (yes, it does) then you are correct if you jump to the
reasoning that the last leg of the race is an “out and back” run. Leg
10 starts and ends at the ski hill. Even though I’ve only run this
race one time, from everything I know I would say that leg 9 was the
choice pick for the race. If I do this again next year, I think I will
try and get this leg again. It was so peaceful and quiet and beautiful.
A sharp contrast to most of my running around Regina.
The race consisted of 169 teams. Some were uber competitive, and
others were struggling. Our team finished about mid-pack. finishing
79th overall. We were team #203, called Fast Forward.
Here is our team’s times: K-100FastForward
I finished my leg of the race in 44th place, with a time of just over
1:06, which I was happy with. After the race I met most of the team,
and had a great visit with my friends from Regina, and also with an old
high school friend who I’ve only seen a few times in recent years. It
was a great event and I’m looking forward to running this one next year.
Next up, Moose Jawg 10 km on July 1st, 2010
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posted Sep 10, 2011 8:38 AM by Bill Brown
Ok, so everyone (or most everyone) knows about the now infamous Canadian
Death Race. The 125 km ultra marathon trail race through the low
mountains of northern Alberta. This is it’s 10th year, btw. I never
had any intention of running that whole race solo (which many people do)
because I’m just not ready. But I wanted to participate – so I found a
team. Our 5 person team is called Speed Kills. I’ve been looking
forward to this one since we registered in January. Anyway, this event
is so intense, that the organizers have annual training camps, which are
great opportunities to see the whole course, over a 3 day period. I
had to take advantage of this great opportunity.
Grande Cache, if you weren’t aware, is about 4 hours West of
Edmonton, and about 1 and 1/2 hrs drive North and West of Hinton. It’s
a great little town. There isn’t much there, however. It used to be a
mining town, but then it died out. They revived it somewhat by getting
a penitentiary built in the neighbourhood. This has helped over the
last number of years. The other major event that they have is this
Canadian Death Race. It takes place every year on the August long
weekend. And the t raining camp, as I have found out, is an excellent
way to see the whole course, if you haven’t experienced it before.
What makes it great is that you get to see the whole course over the
weekend, not at once, and also part of the schedule calls for trail
biking part of the course, so you don’t actually run the whole thing.
Over the course of the weekend of June 11th, our group
ran/walked/hiked about 85 km, and rode about 26 km more – which is abotu
111 out of the 125 km course. There was a 7 km stretch of leg 5 (from
the start of that leg) to the river crossing, which most people ran on
the Friday night. I missed it however, because I was too fatigued from
the day run. And there was about another 7 km that was fairly boring
and inconsequential to the whole course, and so was also left out.
 Camping in Grande Cache
The weather for the training camp weekend was fantastic. And lucky
too. I spent the week before the training camp in Grande Cache.
Wanted to try my hand at camping. It wasn’t really so bad, except that
the weather was rather cold and damp. It rained every day for at least
about half the day it seemed, and remained overcast for most of the
days. As I wanted to be well rested for the camp, I had arranged for a
hotel room for the weekend. In retrospect, I’m glad I did that. Even
though the week before the camp was damp and cold, the sun came out late
Thursday afternoon, and then on Friday and the weekend, it was mostly
sunny, warmer, and it only rained one time that I recall, and not for
very long. And then as strangely as the great weather appeared late
Thursday, it vanished again on Sunday afternoon, and when I left the
next day it was again cool and overcast.
On the Friday, we hiked/ran leg 2 of the race, which is the most
technical leg. It’s not the longest, but there are more ups and downs,
and “through the trees” hard to keep your step, places. There are two
smaller mountains – Flood and Grand – and in between them is the
infamous area known as “Slugfest”. Let’s just say that it is
appropriately named. I think it’s about 5 km through Slugfest, but it
feels like at least twice that. Mossy, steep, with lots of round rocks
on which to slip and fall. I didn’t take any pictures while running
this leg – I spent my time trying to stay upright through all the
mayhem. The average time to run this leg is between 4 and 6 hours. I
think I finished around 4:45 however we missed about 2 or 3 km at the
end. The full leg finished right in the town, whereas we all stopped a
few km out for the sake of convenience. It was this leg of the race on
Friday that wiped me out to the point where I did not participate in the
night run that evening – which was only 5 km piece of leg 5. I wish I
would have ran that one though.
As I recall, on the Saturday we biked half of leg 1, and then
ran/hiked leg 4, which is the assault on Mount Hamel. 37 km. This is,
although longer than leg 2, easier in many respects in that it is just
brute force uphill and downhill. The paths are good and the most
technical parts are trying to walk/hike where the slope is steep and the
path is mainly small rocks and loose gravel. I took a spill on the
downside of Mount Hamel, drew some blood, but was not a significant
injury and I was able to continue fairly easily. At the end of the the
day, I felt noticeably more alive than I did at the end of Friday’s
events. Saturday night there was an informal pasta supper and most
people attended. It was great to sit down and chat with people from all
over the land about the impending race. Here are a few images from
the Mount Hamel adventure.
 Summit of Mount Hamel  Me on the Summit  Climbing Mount Hamel I have a more images in my Facebook photo album, click here.
The weekend was a great success. I met many great people, heard many
great stories, and got many great ideas for nutrition and running in
general. I was really glad I went, and want to go back next year. For
someone who is running the race solo and is not familiar with it, I
would definitely recommend it. If all goes well over the winter and
into the spring, I am thinking seriously about doing this Death Race
solo next year.
Next up, the K-100. Kananaskis 100 mile relay from Longview, Alberta, to Kananaskis Village on June 19th, 2010. |
posted Sep 10, 2011 8:34 AM by Bill Brown
The summer running season continues along with a collection of June
events in Alberta. June 5th was the Banff Jasper Relay. The 15
person, 258 KM trek from Banff to Jasper. Background: the race is a 15
person relay, with two stages running simultaneously, so that all
runners can run in the daylight. The South stage and the North stage
both start at 7:00 AM. The South is 6 legs, finishing at Sask River
Crossing. The Notrh is 9 legs, starting at Sask River Crossing and
finishing in Jasper. I ran this last year and really enjoyed it, so I
made the effort to do it again this year. This year the team was about
to fall apart due to many people from last year choosing not to run ii
this year (or at least choosing not to run with us this
year. Hmmm…) So, I ended up taking over the captain’s chair, and was
able to get a group together and get registered for the run. About 1/2
the team was new. At that point of the organization, I was just happy
to have 15 committed people ready to run. I never had any concerns
about fast people versus slow people, and we all agreed that it was a
fun run, and we weren’t in it to be truly competitive. Still, 5 of our
team finished within the top 7 for their leg – very impressive! Most of
the rest of us finished middle of the back or slower. All in all at
the end of the day, our team was in 18th place, out of 35 teams that
finished. Just 1 spot below middle of the pack. For a new team with so
many new runners, I considered that to be a great finish, especially
considering our goal was just to have fun.
 Click to enlarge That
said, we all try to do our best. You drive for 10 or 12 hours to get
there – one thing is for sure, and it’s that you will run your best!
As no one on our team was interested in tackling the toughest leg of the
run (stage 9 – Big Bend) I volunteered to do it. I thought by doing so
it would generate more excitement (since no one would worry about having
to run that leg.) In all honesty, there were enough logistic issues
that my only concern was finishing. However, when all was set and the
run was under way, all my organizational headaches went away and my mind
was free to simply enjoy the run. My guestimation for leg 9 was that I
could do it in about 1:45 or so. The weather was pretty good – about
5c and overcast. We got some rain and some hail while running up the
hill – was noticablely irritating, but the hail stones weren’t big
enough to really hurt, so it didn’t appear to affect anyone. I was
quite happy while passing 3 or 4 people on the uphill. However, once
done the biggest hill of the leg, I was quickly passed by about 1/2
dozen (younger) speedsters, which put me back in my place. I did
finish the run strong and excited, but only managed about 23rd place out
of 38 or so teams. I was however quite happy with my time of 1:25:29.
Here is a description of leg 9. BJR-stage9
Much like last year, I only met about 1/2 the team. The distance of
the race is so great, and personal conditions are such that it is just
not the best race for such mixed team. We had 6 people from Saskatoon, 3
from Whitecourt, Alberta, 4 from Jasper, one from B.C., and me. The
Saskatoon people all needed to get back home my Sunday evening, and so
considering the distance, they did not drive up to Jasper for the
post-race activities.
All in all, it was pretty much what I expected: great team mates,
absolutely beautiful scenery (made me which I had a really good digital
SLR camera), great weather, and all in all, a fun time. It’s never
cheap to drive to Banff and back [from Regina], especially since I was
by myself, but still – it was a great experience. I will probably do
this one again next year. The biggest time issue was just organizing
the team.
Lessons learned:
1. Don’t book a room at the Crossings Motel, at Sask River Crossing. It
is horribly expensive, (along with fuel) and it’s rather noisy, and
nothing special. There are plenty of Hostel’s along that highway, and
most are in the range of about $25 per night. Fewer amenities, but a
warm place to sleep is really all one needs. Actually, a camping spot
near Jasper would also save one at least another $100.
2. Organize sooner. Although I didn’t have the chance to do it this
year, next year I will organize much earlier. I believe that at the
point where all runners are committed and have paid their registration,
stress [to me, as captain] drops at least 80%. Which goes a long way to
enjoy the weeks before the trip.
3. Car pool or drive slower. I could save at least 30% in cost of fuel
by driving 95kmph rather than 115. On a 20 hour drive (return trip to
Canmore/Banff) that represents about $60, or 1 tank of gas.
Substantial. A better solution yet would be to car pool – although
that’s tough when I’m the only one from Regina going, as well as the
need to be at a different part of the highway as the rest of your team
(on time for the start of your leg) as well as the
possibility/probability of needing to support other runners. Still…
If you want to see more images from the Banff – Jasper area, and a few from the race, check out my facebook image album, by clicking here.
Next up: Canadian Death Race Training – next weekend! (June 11th, 2010) |
posted Sep 10, 2011 8:30 AM by Bill Brown
[
updated Sep 10, 2011 8:33 AM
]
So after the Minot half marathon run, I was really hyped to
stick with the last month of a 3:30 training plan in order to nail the
Fargo Marathon. Time to rest, time to plan, nice schedule in place –
my plan was good. So we pack up the truck and the family and head for
Fargo. While I was really hoping I could run a 3:30 marathon, in
retrospect it was quite ambitious, considering that my previous best was
only 3:51. However, I had ambition on my side.
Forecast for race day – Overcast, rain, and high humidity. The
Friday night of the weekend there was a 5k family fun run/walk. The
race was organized with an added incentive – called the GoFar challenge.
All you had to do was run the 5k on Friday, and then either the full
or half marathon on Saturday, and there it was – an extra medal. So
naturally I figured I had to do that. And I did.
Friday began with a pasta supper at 4pm. Guest speaker – none other
than the ultra marathon man, Dean Karnazes. Although the meal sucked,
Dean’s presentation was pretty good. He spoke about motivation for
running, and included his 10 minute video clip of him being on the David
Letterman show. It was pretty decent.
Anyway, the Friday night run was good. My plan was to treat it as a
calm, slow, relaxing run since the marathon was the next day. Normally
I run 3k the day before anyway, so I figured what’s 2k more between
friends. It was a crowded, but fun run and worth doing.
Saturday morning was cold and raining. Not heavy, but just enough so
that you knew you were cold. And often runners will tell you that’s a
good thing. I would have to agree with that also. The rain lasted
about 1/2 hour or so, and then the sun came out and it got warm – and
humid. I was feeling pretty good all the way through the first half of
the run, making the 1/2 way point at 1:45:06, which had me on track for a
3:30 finish. However, it was not to be. For reasons which probably
ranged from improper and bad timing with hydration and nutrition, to
unexpected heat and humidity, to running the first half too fast – all
factored in to give me a poor finish. I knew just past the half way
point that I would not make the 3:30. My legs were just done. I was
not too depressed – I knew I would finish and once I knew I wasn’t going
to make my Boston Qualifying time, I just sauntered to the finish. The
finish line was indoors, at the FargoDone, and the last 100 metres or
so was also downhill. The only excitement for me was those last hundred
metres where I sprinted past about 3 or 4 people just before the
finish. It doesn’t seem to matter how tired I am at that point in the
race – I seem to be able to sprint for that last 10 – 15 seconds to
cross the line.
There were plenty of pictures thisd time. However, they were taken
by a professional group, and I did not feel like paying $54 (USD) to
have a digial copy of me crossing the finish line. So below are some
small images of the race – maybe you can tell it’s me there, or maybe
not. SInce they were free, it’s all good.
Oh, final race time: 4:06 something. There’s also an image here of a snapshot of the timing results from the website.
All in all, I’d give this one an 8/10 as well. Well organized and
well supported. Fan support was great and definitely worth doing again.
Next up: Banff Jasper – June 5th.
Click on the image below to see the smaller text.
That’s the Fargo Marathon for 2010.
I think I might like to do this one again some time.
It was a great experience and it’s always nice to go to the USA for some running and cheap beer.
The race was very crowded, but by and large, everyone was happy and glad to be there.
The jumbotron was a plus. You could see yourself on the jumbotron as
you ran by at the start, and as you run into the finish. People
inside the FargoDome could watch people in real time as they got closer
to the finish. It made it very nice for Patricia and the kids to watch
me come in – they knew I was only a few minutes away, and watched me
cross the finish line.
It was a tough race. I felt dizzy and nautious. Still, a good day.
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